Storage drive carrier module

ABSTRACT

An example carrier module may include a carrier board. The carrier board may include a storage drive interface and an adapter connector in electrical communication with the storage drive interface. The adapter connector may engage with a complementary adapter receiver. The adapter connector may include a plurality of signal pins, at least one ground pin that is longer than the signal pins, and at least one power pin that is longer than the signal pins. The plurality of signal pins, the at least one ground pin, and the at least one power pin may engage with the adapter receiver to facilitate electrical communication between the adapter receiver and the adapter connector.

PRIORITY INFORMATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.15/527,460 filed on May 17, 2017, which claims priority to InternationalApplication No. PCT/US2014/067617 filed on Nov. 26, 2014. The entirecontents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

Storage drives can be used to store data from computer systems,including server systems. Further, storage drives can be used totransfer data between multiple computer systems. Storage drives may beeasily installed or removed from computer systems, or storage drives mayalso be installed in the computer system internally, making removal andinstallation more difficult.

Server systems generally use storage drives as part of a storage array.Server storage drives can be removable from the array without needing toshut down the server system. Such storage drives are generally removedfrom the front of the server system and can be coupled to a storageadapter in order to facilitate easy removal and installation of thestorage drive while the server system is running.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a perspective view of an example carrier module including acarrier board, a storage drive interface, an adapter connector, and apower storage component.

FIG. 1B is a perspective view of an example carrier module coupled to astorage drive.

FIG. 2A is a perspective view of an example carrier module including acarrier housing.

FIG. 2B is a perspective view of an example carrier module with acarrier housing, the carrier module coupled to a storage drive.

FIG. 2C is a sectional view of an example carrier module coupled to astorage drive, taken along cut line 2C of FIG. 2B.

FIG. 3A is a perspective view of an example carrier module including asupport portion, a user notification portion, carrier board retentionfeatures, and a storage drive retention feature, the carrier modulecoupled to a storage drive.

FIG. 3B is a perspective view of an example carrier module, the carriermodule apart from a storage drive.

FIG. 3C is an exploded view of an example carrier module, the carriermodule including a support portion, a user notification portion, carrierboard retention features, and a storage drive retention feature.

FIG. 3D is a partial sectional view of an example carrier module, takenalong cut line 3D of FIG. 3A.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Storage drives can have edge connectors that connect the storage driveto a receiving connector in an associated computing system, including aserver system. The edge connectors can include multiple pins (e.g., agold finger connector). The edge connector can include multiple signalpins, at least one ground pin, and at least one power pin. The multiplesignal pins communicate a signal to and from a memory portion of thestorage drive and the receiving connector, while the at least one groundpin connects the storage drive to ground, and the at least one power pinprovides power to the storage drive from the receiving connector. Theground and power pins may be longer than the signal pins.

Storage drives can be coupled to carrier modules to facilitate the useof the storage drive in the computing system. The carrier module mayreceive the storage drive and may also facilitate the connection betweenthe edge connector of the storage drive and the receiving connector.Server systems can have multiple storage drives, each drive beingseparately accessible from the front of the server, and each drivehaving the ability to be removably connected to the system without thefunction of the system being stopped each drive can be hot plugged).

The ability to hot plug a storage drive into the server system dependson the storage drive being directly insertable into the server systemfrom the front, such that the longer ground and power pins on thestorage drive's edge connector can interface with the server system'sreceiving connector before the signal pins on the edge connectorinterface with the receiving connector. This allows the storage drive tobe in electrical communication with both a ground connection and a powerconnection before the storage drive begins to receive a signal from theserver system through the signal pins.

Some storage drives cannot be directly inserted into the front of acomputer system such that the ground and power pins of the storagedrive's edge connector interface with the computer system's receivingconnector before the signal pins, or, the edge connector on some storagedrives do not have ground and power pins that are longer than the signalpins. Such storage drives are precluded from being hot plugged for thesereasons. An example of one such drive is a Next Generation Form Factor(NGFF) solid state storage drive. The NGFF storage drive may only havean edge connector that includes ground and power pins that are notlonger than the signal pins. Further, NGFF storage drives may only beinserted at an angle relative to a plane defined by the storage drive,the angled insertion precluding the NGFF storage drive from beingdirectly inserted into a receiving connector. Therefore, the NGFFstorage drive is not ordinarily hot pluggable.

In contrast, implementations of the present disclosure can provide acarrier module that includes a connector portion having ground and powerpins that are longer than the signal pins, and also facilitates thedirect insertion of the connector portion of the carrier module into areceiving connector, such that the carrier module allows a non-hotpluggable storage drive to be hot plugged into a computer system,including a server system.

Additionally, storage drives may experience a loss of data that isstored in a memory portion of the storage drive if the at least onepower pin of the edge connector of the storage drive experiences a lossof a power input from the receiving connector or the associated computersystem.

In contrast, implementations of the present disclosure can provide acarrier module that includes a power storage component in addition to aconnector portion. The power storage component can store a power inputreceived by the connector portion from the receiving connector of theassociated computer system. If the at least one power pin of the edgeconnector of a storage drive coupled to the carrier module experiences aloss of a power input from the receiving connector or the associatedcomputer system, then the power storage component of the carrier modulecan provide a power input to the storage drive that the power storagecomponent previously received from the receiving connector of theassociated computer system such that the power storage componentsupports a storage drive function so that the storage drive does notexperience a loss of data.

Referring now to FIGS. 1A and 1B, an example carrier module isillustrated. The carrier module 100 may include a carrier board 114, thecarrier board including a storage drive interface 112, an adapterconnector 120, and a power storage component 116.

Carrier board 114 may structurally support and electrically connectmultiple electronic components. The carrier board 114 may, in someimplementations, electrically connect multiple electronic componentswith copper pathways. In further implementations, the carrier board 114may be substantially made out of a non-conductive substrate with copperpathways etched onto the substrate. In some implementations, thenon-conductive substrate may include silicone. In some implementations,the carrier board 114 might comprise a single-layer printed circuitboard (PCB), or a multi-layer PCB in other implementations.

As illustrated, the carrier board 114 may include a storage driveinterface 112 coupled to the carrier board 114. The storage driveinterface 112 may be an electrical interface to communicate with an edgeconnector of a storage drive 118, the edge connector in communicationwith a memory portion of the storage drive 118. In some implementations,the storage drive interface 112 may communicate with multiple pins ofthe edge connector, and the multiple pins may include multiple signalpins, at least one power pin and at least one ground pin. In someimplementations, the storage drive interface 112 may facilitateelectrical communication between the multiple pins of the edge connectorand the carrier board 114.

As seen in FIG. 1B, and discussed in further detail below, the carrierboard 114 may receive and engage with the storage drive 118, the storagedrive 118 electrically engaging with the carrier board 114 through thestorage drive interface 112. The storage drive interface 112 may receivethe storage drive 118 at an angle and allow the storage drive 118 to betilted in a downward motion such that the storage drive interface 112electrically engages with the multiple pins of the edge connector of thestorage drive 118. In some implementations, the storage drive interfacemay be a M.2 storage drive interface to engage with a NGFF solid statestorage drive, the carrier board 114 to receive a NGFF solid statestorage drive. In yet further implementations, the NGFF solid statestorage drive is a type 2280 NGFF solid state storage drive.

The carrier board 114 may further include an adapter connector 120 inelectrical communication with the storage drive interface 112. Theadapter connector may be an electrical interface to communicate with areceiving computer system. The adapter connector may be an edgeconnector including multiple pins. In some implementations, the adapterconnector may include multiple signal pins, at least one power pin, andat least one ground pin. The multiple signal pins, the at least onepower pin, and the at least one ground pin of the adapter connector maybe in electrical communication with the storage drive interface 112, thestorage drive interface 112 to electrically engage the multiple signalpins, the at least one power pin, and the at least one ground pin of theadapter connector with the multiple signal pins, the at least one powerpin, and the at least one ground pin of the edge connector of thestorage drive, respectively.

The carrier board 114 may removably engage with a complementary adapterreceiver of the receiving computer system through the adapter connector120. The signal pins and the power and ground pins of the adapterconnector may engage with the adapter receiver such that they facilitateelectrical communication between the adapter receiver and the adapterconnector 120. The signal pins may transfer a signal from the receivingcomputer system to the carrier board 114 through the adapter receiverand the adapter connector 120. Further, the at least one power pin mayreceive a power input from the receiving computer system through theadapter receiver, and transfer the power input to the carrier board 114.In some implementations, the carrier board 114 further includes aregulator circuit to receive the power input from the at least one powerpin of the adapter connector 120 and to decrease the voltage of thepower input before providing the power input to the storage driveinterface 112. In further implementations, the regulator circuitreceives a 12 volt or a 5.5 volt power input from the at least one powerpin of the adapter connector 120 and decreases the power input to 3.3volts. Similarly, the at least one ground pin may electrically connectthe carrier board to ground through the adapter receiver.

The adapter connector 120 may further include pins of different lengths.In some implementations of the present disclosure, the adapter connector120 of the carrier board 114 may include at least one ground pin and atleast one power pin that are longer than the signal pins, such that,when the adapter connector is interfacing with the adapter receiver, theat least one ground and power pins engage with the adapter receiverbefore the signal pins engage with the adapter receiver. Having at leastone ground and power pin be longer than the signal pins, and, thus,engage with the adapter receiver before the signal pins, allows thestorage drive engaged with the carrier board to be hot pluggable withthe receiving computer system, including a server system. In someimplementations, the adapter connector may be a male Mini SerialAttached SCSI (Mini SAS) connector, specifically, a 26-pin SFF-8086 MiniSAS connector. In yet further implementations, the adapter connector 120may removably engage with a female Mini SAS connector.

In some implementations, the adapter connector may be physicallydisposed on the carrier board 114. Further, in some implementations, theadapter connector may be physically and electrically integrated with aPCB of the carrier board 114. In yet further implementations, theadapter connector 120 may be a separate element of the carrier module100, and may not be part of the carrier board 114, however, the adapterconnector 114 still in electrical communication with the storage driveinterface 112.

The carrier board 114 may also include a power storage component 116,the power storage component 116 in electrical communication with thestorage drive interface 112 and the adapter connector 120. In someimplementations, the power storage component 116 may be physicallydisposed on the carrier board 114. The power storage component 116 maybe an electrical component capable of storing power and providing thestored power to other electrical components so as to act as an energysource. In some implementations, the power storage component 116 mayprovide stored power to the other electrical components if the otherelectrical components experience a power loss. In some implementations,the power storage component 116 comprises at least one capacitor and/orsuper capacitor. In some implementations, the power storage component116 comprises at least one capacitor and/or super capacitor with arating of at least 1000 micro farads. In further implementations, thepower storage component 116 comprises six capacitors, each with a ratingof 15,000 micro farads.

The power storage component 116 may receive a power input from theadapter receiver through the adapter connector 120 and store the powerinput. In some implementations, the power storage component 116 mayreceive a power input from the receiving computer system through theadapter receiver and the at least one power pin of the adapter connector120. The power storage component 116 may provide the stored power inputto the storage drive 118 through the storage drive interface 112. Insome implementations, the power storage component 116 may provide thestored power input to the storage drive 118 through the at least onepower pin of the storage drive 118. In some implementations, the powerstorage component 116 may provide the stored power input to the storagedrive 118 if the at least one power pin of the adapter connector 120ceases to receive a power input from the adapter receiver. Further, thepower storage component 116 may be used as the primary power source forthe storage drive 118 and may provide the stored power input to thestorage drive 118 in order to temporarily support a storage driveoperation in the event that the at least one power pin of the adapterconnector 120 stops receiving a power input from the adapter receiver.In some implementations, if the at least one power pin of the adapterconnector 120 stops receiving a power input from the adapter receiver,the power storage component 116 may provide the stored power input tothe storage drive 118 such that the storage drive 118 does notexperience a loss of data stored in the storage drive 118. In someimplementations, a storage drive operation may include flushing a cacheof the memory portion of the storage drive 118 such that the storagedrive 118 can be removed from power safely. The power storage component116 may, therefore, provide enough power to the storage drive 118 for along enough time such that the storage drive 118 can flush, or,permanently store the data found in the cache of the storage drive 118in the memory portion of the storage drive 118 such that the data foundin the cache of the storage drive 118 is not lost in the event that theadapter connector 120 stops receiving a power input from the adapterreceiver. In some implementations, the power storage component 116 maybe used as the primary power source for the storage drive 118 forbetween 10 and 30 seconds after the at least one power pin of theadapter connector 120 stops receiving a power input from the adapterreceiver, the power storage component 116 to allow the cache of thestorage drive 118 to be flushed and the storage drive 118 to be safelyremoved from all power such that the storage drive 118 does notexperience a loss of data.

Referring now to FIGS. 2A-C, a further implementation of the currentdisclosure is illustrated. A carrier module 200 may include a carrierboard 214, the carrier board including a storage drive interface 212, anadapter connector 220, and a power storage component 216, as describedabove. Further, the carrier module 200 may include a carrier housing202. The carrier housing may be a structural enclosure thatsubstantially encompasses the elements of the carrier module 200. Thecarrier housing may protect the elements of the carrier module 200 fromdamage or mechanical or electrical interference with their function. Insome implementations, the carrier housing 202 may protect the elementsof the carrier module from static interference. In furtherimplementations, the carrier housing 202 may facilitate removableinsertion of the carrier module 200 into a receiving computer system,including a server system. In some implementations, the carrier housing202 may facilitate the removable insertion of the carrier module 200into a storage bay in the receiving computer system. In yet furtherimplementations, the carrier housing 202 may facilitate direct insertionof the adapter connector 220 into a complementary adapter receiverwithin the storage bay of the receiving computer system.

The carrier housing 202 may receive and wholly or substantially enclosethe carrier board 214, and may also removably receive a storage drive218 while the storage drive 218 is electrically engaged with the storagedrive interface 212, as illustrated in FIGS. 2B and C. FIG. 2Cillustrates a cross-sectional view of the carrier module 200, as definedby cut-line 2C shown in FIG. 2B. The carrier housing 202 may furthersubstantially enclose the storage drive 218 while the storage drive 218is electrically engaged with the storage drive interface 212. In someimplementations, the carrier housing 202 may receive a solid statestorage drive 218. In further implementations, the carrier housing mayreceive and enclose a NGFF solid state storage drive 218 while the NGFFsolid state storage drive 218 is electrically engaged with a M.2 storagedrive interface 212 coupled to the carrier board 214. The carrierhousing 202 may engage with the storage bay enclosing the adapterreceiver in the receiving computer system such that the storage drive218 is in electrical communication with the adapter receiver while thecarrier housing 202 is engaged with the storage bay.

The carrier housing 202, in some implementations, may include asubstantially flat bottom portion 204, a first side portion 206, asecond side portion 208, and a front portion 210, as illustrated inFIGS. 2B and 2C. The first and second side portions 206 and 208,respectively, may be substantially flat, substantially parallel andopposite to each other, and substantially perpendicular to the bottomportion 204 and the front portion 210. Further, the front portion 210may be substantially perpendicular to the bottom portion 204. In someimplementations, the bottom portion 204, and the first and second sideportions 206 and 208, respectively, may encourage the carrier module 200to insert into the storage bay smoothly without the insertion of carriermodule 200 being obstructed by other features within the storage bay.

Referring now to FIGS. 3A-D. FIGS. 3A and 3B are perspective views of animplementation of a carrier module 300 to engage with a storage drive318, the carrier module 300 including a carrier housing 302 and acarrier board 314, as described above. FIG. 3B is a perspective view ofthe implementation in FIG. 3A, illustrating the carrier module 300 whilenot engaged with the storage drive 318. FIG. 3C is an explodedperspective view of an implementation of the current disclosure, andFIG. 3D is a partial cross-sectional view of a further implementation ofthe current invention.

In some implementations, the carrier module 300 may further includesupport portions 322, retention features 316, a user notificationportion 324, and/or a storage drive retention feature 326. It should benoted that, while the support portions 322, the retention features 316,the user notification portion 324, and the storage drive retentionfeature 326 are shown together in FIGS. 3A-D, implementations of thepresent disclosure do not need to include all of them.

In some implementations, a first and second side portion 306 and 308,respectively, of the carrier housing 302 may each include a supportportion 322. The support portion 322 may be a feature that providesvertical support for the carrier board 314. Further, the support portion322, in some implementations, may be a ledge or shelf, disposed on aninside surface of each of the first and second side portions 306 and308, such that the support portion 322 on each side portion faces theother. Additionally, the support portion 322 on each side portion may besubstantially parallel to a bottom portion 304 in order to providesupport for the carrier board 314 such that the carrier board 314 isfixed substantially parallel to the bottom portion 304.

Additionally, some implementations of the present disclosure may includeone or more retention features 316 disposed within the carrier housing302. The one or more retention features 316 may be features that providevertical support for the carrier board 314 such that the carrier board314 is substantially fixed within the carrier housing 302. In someimplementations, the retention features 316 may be disposed on each ofthe first and second side portions 306 and 308. The retention features316 may be tabs or similar protrusions from the carrier housing 302. Insome implementations, the retention features 316 are oriented above thesupport portion 322. In further implementations, the retention features316 are oriented to urge the carrier board 314 against the supportportions 322 on the side portions 306 and 308 such that the carrierboard 314 is substantially fixed against the support portions 322.

Referring still to FIGS. 3A-3D, the carrier module 300 may furtherinclude, in some implementations, a user notification portion 322 on theexterior of the carrier housing 302. The user notification portion 322may be an electric or mechanical feature to notify a user of a status oran activity of the carrier module 300 or the carrier board 314. Infurther implementations, the user notification portion 322 may belocated on the front portion 310 of the carrier housing 302. In someimplementations, the user notification portion 324 may include one ormore light pipes or other features to transfer the visibility of one ormore LEDs or other lights disposed on the receiving computer system tothe front portion 310 of the carrier housing 302. In furtherimplementations, the user notification portion 324 may include lightemitting diodes (LEDs) on the exterior of the carrier housing 302 tonotify the user of the status or activity of the carrier module 300 orthe carrier board 314. The LEDs may be controlled by a controller ormicrocontroller on the carrier board 314, or by the receiving computersystem The statuses or activities that the user notification portion 322conveys may include, but are not limited to, one or more of a system orstorage drive health, network or receiving computer system connectionstatus of the storage drive 318, storage drive failure, whether thestorage drive 318 is receiving power from the receiving computer system,or whether the storage drive is in a standby, an active, a reading, awriting or other mode.

Referring still to FIGS. 3A-3D, the carrier module 300 may yet furtherinclude a storage drive retention feature 326 disposed within thecarrier housing 302. The storage drive retention feature 326 may be afeature to retain the storage drive 318 within the carrier housing 302and in a position wherein the storage drive 318 is in electricalcommunication with the carrier board 314. In some implementations, andas illustrated in FIGS. 3C and 3D, the storage drive retention feature326 may retain the storage drive 318 by being removably fixed orfastened to the carrier housing 302. In further implementations, thestorage drive retention feature 326 may be a threaded fastener such as ascrew or bolt. The threaded fastener may retain the storage drive 318 byengaging with a hole or cutout in the storage drive and threading intothe carrier housing 302. In some implementations, the storage drive 318may be a NGFF solid state storage drive and the retention feature 326may be a threaded fastener that engages with a semicircular cutout inthe NGFF solid state storage drive and further ends into the carrierhousing 302.

What is claimed is:
 1. A carrier module, comprising: a carrier board,the carrier board including: a storage drive interface; and an adapterconnector in electrical communication with the storage drive interface,the adapter connector to engage with a complementary adapter receiver,the adapter connector including: a plurality of signal pins; a groundpin that is longer than the signal pins; and a power pin that is longerthan the signal pins, wherein the plurality of signal pins, the groundpin, and the power pin are to engage with the complementary adapterreceiver to facilitate electrical communication between thecomplementary adapter receiver and the adapter connector; and a powerstorage component in electrical communication with the storage driveinterface and the adapter connector, the power storage component tostore a power input from the complementary adapter receiver and toprovide the power input to the storage drive interface to support astorage drive operation if the adapter connector ceases to receive apower input from the complementary adapter receiver.
 2. The carriermodule of claim 1, further including a carrier housing substantiallyenclosing the carrier board, the carrier housing to receive and tosubstantially enclose a storage drive and to engage with a storage bayenclosing the complementary adapter receiver, such that the storagedrive is in electrical communication with the complementary adapterreceiver when the carrier housing is engaged with the storage bay. 3.The carrier module of claim 2, wherein the carrier housing furtherincludes a user notification portion disposed on an exterior of thecarrier housing, the user notification portion to notify a user of astatus or an activity of the carrier module.
 4. The carrier module ofclaim 2, wherein the carrier housing includes a plurality of retentionfeatures to hold the carrier board in place within the carrier housing.5. The carrier module of claim 4, wherein the carrier housing furtherincludes a storage drive retention feature disposed within the carrierhousing to retain the storage drive in a position wherein the storagedrive is in electrical communication with the carrier board.
 6. Thecarrier module of claim 1, wherein the storage drive interface is toremovably engage with a solid state storage drive.
 7. The carrier moduleof claim 1, wherein the adapter connector is a Mini Serial Attached SCSI(Mini SAS) interface.
 8. A carrier module, comprising: a carrier board,the carrier board including: a storage drive interface to removablyengage with a storage drive; an adapter connector in electricalcommunication with the storage drive interface, the adapter connector toremovably engage with a complementary adapter receiver, the adapterconnector including: a plurality of signal pins; and a power pin that islonger than the signal pins, wherein the power pin is to engage with thecomplementary adapter receiver before the plurality of signal pins; anda power storage component in electrical communication with the storagedrive interface and the adapter connector, the power storage componentto store a power input from the complementary adapter receiver and toprovide the power input to the storage drive interface to support astorage drive operation if the adapter connector ceases to receive apower input from the complementary adapter receiver.
 9. The carriermodule of claim 8, further comprising a carrier housing substantiallyenclosing the carrier board, the carrier housing including: asubstantially flat bottom portion; a first side portion; a second sideportion, wherein the first and second side portions are disposedsubstantially perpendicularly to the bottom portion and disposedsubstantially parallel and substantially opposite to each other; and afront portion disposed substantially perpendicularly to each of thefirst and second side portions and to the bottom portion.
 10. Thecarrier module of claim 9, wherein the first and second side portionseach include a support portion disposed substantially parallel to thebottom portion, each support portion to provide support for the carrierboard such that the carrier board is fixed substantially parallel to thebottom portion.
 11. The carrier module of claim 9, wherein the first andsecond side portions each include at least one retention feature engagedwith the carrier board to urge the carrier board against the supportportions of the first and second side portions.
 12. The carrier moduleof claim 9, wherein the carrier housing further includes a usernotification portion disposed on the front portion, the usernotification portion to notify a user of a status or an activity of thecarrier module.
 13. The carrier module of claim 8, wherein the storagedrive is a Next Generation Form Factor (NGFF) solid state storage drive,and wherein the storage drive interface is a M.2 storage driveinterface.
 14. A carrier module, comprising: a carrier board inelectrical communication with a solid state storage drive, the carrierboard including: a storage drive interface coupled to the carrier boardand to receive the solid state storage drive; a power storage component,wherein the power storage component is to provide power to the solidstate storage drive through the storage drive interface to support astorage drive operation; and an adapter connector in electricalcommunication with the carrier board and to removably engage with andreceive a power input from a complementary adapter receiver, the adapterconnector to provide the power input to the power storage component,wherein the power storage component is to provide the stored power inputto the solid state storage drive if the adapter connector ceases toreceive the power input from the complementary adapter receiver suchthat the solid state drive can flush a cache on the solid state drive soas to not experience a loss of data in the cache; the adapter connectorincludes a plurality of signal pins, a ground pin that is longer thanthe signal pins, and a power pin that is longer than the signal pins.15. The carrier module of claim 14, wherein the power storage componentincludes at least one capacitor, the capacitor having a rating of atleast 1000 micro farads.
 16. The carrier module of claim 14, wherein thesolid state storage drive is a Next Generation Form Factor (NGFF) solidstate storage drive, and wherein the storage drive interface is a M.2storage drive interface.
 17. The carrier module of claim 14, wherein theplurality of signal pins, the ground pin, and the power pin are toengage with the complementary adapter receiver to facilitate electricalcommunication between the complementary adapter receiver and the adapterconnector.
 18. The carrier module of claim 14, wherein the storage driveinterface is to removably engage with the solid state storage drive. 19.The carrier module of claim 14, wherein the adapter connector is a MiniSerial Attached SCSI (Mini SAS) interface.